Fortunately, Karasuno had limited opportunities, Hinata managed to escape the predicament just as he rotated to the middle of the back row.
Unlike the edges and corners, the center is an area that both players on either side can cover, the balls spiked by the opponent won't result in situations where it's difficult to determine if they are in or out.
For Hinata, this kind of straightforward spike was still easy to receive.
"I've got it!" After shouting, Hinata shifted his weight forward and used his arms to bump the ball up.
"Nice kill!" Miya Atsumu raised his hand and sent the ball toward Suna Rintaro.
Suna Rintaro, who had originally prepared to spike a short diagonal, twisted his upper body after jumping and forcefully spiked a line shot instead.
The Libero in the back row failed to save the ball, allowing Inarizaki to score a point.
Hoshiumi clicked his tongue lightly.
He is truly difficult to deal with; if one relaxes even for a split second, he will enter Hinata Shoyo's comfort zone.
It was as if a knife were pressing against his back; he had to put his maximum effort into every single ball, otherwise he would be countered.
The serve returned to Miya Atsumu once again, at that same moment, Hinata also moved back to the front row.
Give me a good serve!
Miya Atsumu spun the ball in his hands, tossing it up at the very last second of the service time limit.
Just as Kita had instructed before, he gave up on targeting Hoshiumi and instead focused his attention on the Libero, Kamibayashi.
And the effect was obvious; his jump float serve landed in the front row, scoring a point directly.
"Great play, Atsumu-senpai!!" Hinata got excited as well.
However, Miya Atsumu's second serve was slightly off, leaving a gap that gave Kamibayashi a chance to step in and handle it.
Great receive!" Suwa also quickly followed up, "Hikari-kun!
Hoshiumi had already jumped near the Position 2 marker, preparing to execute a Flat Quick Attack, but at the same time, Hinata and Oori Ren from the opposing side had already caught up.
However, the rhythm of his jump this time was very quick, it wasn't a high ball from a two-footed jump. Hinata misjudged the timing and jumped a little too late.
"Touch!" In the end, Oori Ren's hand made contact with the ball.
"Nice!" Akagi followed up with two steps, raising his hand to send the ball to Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu quickly glanced at Hirugami's position and decisively gave the ball to Hinata, who had already swapped positions with Oori Ren and rushed toward Position 2.
But Hirugami's reaction was equally fast, as he reached out a single hand to reach Hinata.
In the emergency, Hinata subconsciously adjusted the angle of his spike.
The volleyball passed through the original contact point, dropping to a lower position, at that same moment, Hinata's hand had already struck the top of the ball.
The next second, the volleyball was forcefully pressed down, hitting just below Hirugami's palm.
With a loud thud, the volleyball grazed Hinata's shoulder and bounced back, finally landing out of bounds.
The referee raised the flag, signaling that Karasuno's block went out, Inarizaki scored.
"Huh?" Hakuma, who failed to keep up with the block, was stunned for a moment.
Who caused the block to go out? Is it not Hirugami Yukio?
Hirugami glanced at his hand and suddenly burst into laughter, "As expected of.."
Hinata's jump position had already been at the very edge of the court.
In order to keep up for the block, he was not in a position parallel to the net, Hinata seized this opportunity, intentionally creating a block-out.
In reality, Hinata, who had originally intended to perform a diving receive, swallowed back his heart that had nearly leaped out of his throat; he truly thought he was about to be blocked.
He patted his chest. "That's my boy! That was incredible!"
Miya Atsumu, who saw through everything, chuckled. "Nice play, Shoyo. Keep it up."
Whether it's luck or skill.
As long as the final result leads to victory, it is a good play.
Coach Unabara covered his face, sighing for what felt like the umpteenth time.
In this match, he always felt a sensation of his eyes lighting up, only to be followed immediately by darkness.
Suna Rintaro, Hakuma Mebuki, Hinata Shoyo.. none of them are the kind of players who let you rest easy.
Chapter 92: The Ninety-Second Fox
Seeing Inarizaki pull ahead in the score, Coach Aran raised his hand to signal a time-out to the head referee.
Without much wasted breath, Coach Aran got straight to the point: "Be more proactive with your receives. Number 17's Quick Attack and high balls are impossible for the blockers to cover. If you aren't confident you can completely shut down Number 17, create some distance from the net and try to get a touch on the ball."
If number 17 is going to take the opportunity to play a dig, don't just wait for the back row to save it; it would be even better to move your feet and kick the ball up.
Receiving the ball after a block is not within the scope of a combination attack; instead, having the back row rush forward to save the ball could potentially lead to a collision with the front row, causing injury.
"Understood." Hirugami and Bessho both nodded.
Hinata and Hirugami were not in complete opposition; Bessho would also have one exchange with Hinata in the front row, the technical plays possible in the front row were undoubtedly more varied than those in the back row.
Hakuma simply nodded along, but in truth, he had no idea what specific actions he was supposed to take.
In short.. following Hirugami is the right move.
Hoshiumi pursed his lips, staring at Hakuma Mebuki with a gaze full of intense resentment.
He was at least two meters tall, so how could he not be able to suppress even someone like Hinata Shoyo?
Hakuma, who was always at odds with Hoshiumi, didn't say anything this time; instead, he shifted his gaze away somewhat uncomfortably.
During practice matches within Karasuno, he had naturally played against Hoshiumi before, but since there were almost no players of the same type in high school, the number of times they faced each other wasn't very high.
Moreover, unlike Hoshiumi's playing style, which was like a bird of prey throwing its full weight into a strike once it locked onto its target, Hinata gave him the impression of being more like some small, agile animal..
Hakuma thought about it for a moment before a sudden realization struck him.
—Could it be a fly?
As they walked toward the court, Hoshiumi looked at Hakuma's rapidly changing expressions and couldn't help but say, "You seem to be thinking something very rude."
Even though it didn't seem to be directed at him, Hoshiumi felt inexplicably annoyed as well.
"No." Hakuma denied it.
Hinata stared intently at Hoshiumi Hikari, who was once again standing on the opposite side of the net from him.
He had already observed the blocking habits of Hirugami-senpai and Hakuma-senpai, so he would perform even better this time.
The current score difference is 3, so before the halftime.. I'll try to pull it to 5.
Raising his hands to the sides of his head, Hinata waited for Miya Atsumu to serve from behind him.
While a jump float serve is a very effective method, Miya Atsumu had no intention of using it continuously.
First of all, Karasuno is quite good at receiving jump float serves, second.. it would feel much more like a surprise attack to hit a powerful serve down the line when the opponents have already moved forward.
A heavy sound rang in his ears as Hinata stared at Kamibayashi's movement on the other side of the net; it was a very standard diving receive.
Although Coach had mentioned during the meeting that Hoshiumi was the core of Karasuno's reception, a player capable of starting as a Libero for such a defensively strong school couldn't be all that weak.
That move just now.. it's well worth learning.
What a great receive!
Hoshiumi rushed to the net, slightly lowering his center of gravity to lure Hinata into jumping, then quickly dropping his weight to jump again.
—A solo time difference.
Hinata's expression changed, beside him, Oori Ren and he both instantly prepared to pull their fingers back at the same moment, preventing Hoshiumi from using the block to tool the block, given that he hadn't even reached a full super-height.
But Hoshiumi's arm swing was not slow either; he precisely caught the gap created by Hinata's slow reaction and hit the ball straight up.
Even though Hinata tried to lean back after realizing he couldn't escape, Hoshiumi, who had much more experience with tooling the block, still spiked an almost perfect ball.
The volleyball flew toward the second-floor stands. Having lost his balance, Hinata gave up on landing on his feet and sat directly on the floor, the momentum nearly causing him to roll backward once.
Hoshiumi looked down at Hinata: "Be more decisive with your movements."
Hinata isn't the only one who can seize an opportunity; if anything, he himself has more openings.
Oori Ren reached out to pull Hinata up. "Is your hand okay?"
With the previous example of Miya Atsumu's injury, Oori was quite worried.
After all, Hinata's skin wasn't nearly as tough as that yet, the calluses on his hands hadn't even fully developed.
Hinata shook his head repeatedly. "It's fine, it's fine. I can adjust the angle; I definitely won't just thrust it straight in like Atsumu-senpai."
"Pfft." Aran, standing behind, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Miya Atsumu, who had just stepped forward, twitched at the corners of his mouth: "Little Shoyo, I heard that."
Hinata hurriedly raised his hand to cover his mouth, shrinking his neck in an attempt to make himself disappear from Miya Atsumu's sight.
Oh no, he forgot that Atsumu-senpai's service turn was already over.
Hoshiumi Hikari serves from the other side of the net.
Hoshiumi's powerful serve prioritized precision over speed; for Akagi, it was easier to give up on judging the exact landing spot and simply dive to receive it.
Therefore, Inarizaki didn't give Karasuno any more chances to score, breaking Karasuno's service streak on the second serve.
Kita Shinsuke rotated to the back row to serve.
After being hit several times by Kita's line-drive jump float serve, Kamibayashi instinctively retreated a bit.
But this time, the ball Kita hit was not a line shot, but a precise tool off the block.
Unlike Hinata, whose sudden ideas are spontaneous, Kita Shinsuke's net touches are specifically practiced; generally speaking, he almost never makes a mistake with them.
Nozawa from the Karasuno front row dove to try and save the ball, but unfortunately, he missed it completely.
“Ohhh—Great play, Kita Team!!” Hinata cheered.
As expected of the Kita Team, even their net serves are so consistent!
Being even more cautious this time, Kamibayashi didn't dare retreat that far; he could only stay positioned in the middle, relying on his reflexes to handle Kita's serve.